Chains
by df14-blacksnow
Summary: Tsuna was contented with his normal life of independence: with supportive parents, a job with an insane boss and a friendship with someone he's in love with, everything was quite fine. But his normal life changed into something unpredictable when he aided a beaten man in a bloody hospital gown. And a very handsome one at that...[All27 for now. AU.]
1. Chapter 1

**Chains**

* * *

***The Mansion: **A place known in the underworld as the house of the Fallens, where they are captured and sold off. Also a place where normal people are forced to awaken as Fallens.

**Introduction:**

In this alternate universe, there are three kinds of people: The first kind is the Fallen; they are humans who were once normal, but were turned to become killing slaves. To become a Fallen, it is either hereditary, and will only awaken when puberty comes or awakened by force. Awakening by force means that the person is tortured until the brink of his death, and survives with his past memories erased. The Fallen have different abilities, and they have extraordinary strengths.

The second kind is the Master; they are humans who have been chosen by the Fallen because of their own reasons. But one optional qualification to be a Master is if they are stronger or in par with the Fallen who chose them. A Master can have more than one Fallen, but that depends on his strength to control them. The last kind are the humans who has nothing to do with the two kinds.

A fallen has a symbol on their wrist, under the palm. The symbol is a circle. The image of the symbol changes when the Fallen has chosen his Master. And a Master can only be one when the same symbol appears on the back of their necks.

In this world, during daytime, the Fallen and the Master have become a myth for the normal people, for they never believed that these kind of humans ever existed. But when the night comes; criminals, politicians, Mafias, Yakuzas and other dark organizations live secretly to do their own dirty works. And in the underworld, the Fallen and Masters are always present.

* * *

**Chapter One: **Midnight Snow

* * *

_**Inside the Mansion: The Laboratory**_

In the underground part of the mansion, a man in a lab gown known as Verde was looking at his watch, waiting for the moving hand to strike at the right time. And when it striked at twelve, the room he was in was lighted by hundreds of screens that covered each wall, showing different types of computer and other technologies that controlled the whole place.

Inside, four persons were on each side of the room, typing through the unusual keyboards as soon as the screens lighted.

"It's the right time...Start the Re-awakening now." The man in the middle said, putting his hands inside the pockets of the lab gown, smirking madly.

"Operation-N Starting..." A woman in a black fitted suit said as she pushed a red button before typing a lot of numbers. She was wearing a head gear that covered her eyes for her to only see the commands on her screen.

"Opening Cell 445 for Experiment..." A man in the same suit nodded, pulling the handle beside him before switching different lights on. On the main gigantic screen in the center of hundreds of others, a large white room was lighted, and after three seconds, the screen was divided into 4, showing the center of the room in different angles.

"Entering Subject XX18..." Another man said, typing different codes while looking at the screen in front of him. On the main screen, the gate at the right side of the white room opened. A robot-like machine called Mosca entered slowly, pulling hundreds of chains that were connected to a huge cylindrical tube wrapped in larger chains and was placed at the center of the white room. After sixty seconds, the Mosca exited the room.

"Entering Top Soldiers..." Another woman said, typing continuously.

One hundred people in black and violet suits and in armor entered the white room with varieties of swords, surrounding the tube.

"Releasing Subject Container..." A man announced. And on the screen, the chains fell from the container, showing the insides of the tube. It was man who had a pale skin and a very black colored hair. He was dressed in white hospital gown with matching plain white pants, eyes closed as he floats inside the tube filled with green water. And on one of the small screens, a camera was focused on his wrist, showing a black circular mark.

"Commencing Operation..." The first woman said before pulling the switch beside her.

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

After the countdown, all of the people inside the control room halted from typing, And at that same time, the first ten soldiers attacked and broke the tube, spilling the green water and stabbed the man with daggers before he fell on the ground, on the shattered glass shards with a very disturbing sound.

An eerie silence lingered inside the room. Anticipating eyes waited in anxiety, and others, in excitement, waiting for the subject to move after being attacked. XX18's blood was flowing continuously from the deep wounds, mixing with the green liquid that was spilled on the floor, creating a dark color. The man was silently breathing despite the daggers that was deeply stabbed into his body parts; his legs, thighs, shoulders and the sides of his stomach.

More seconds past, making the soldiers wait in more anxiety, before the raven coughed in blood, his body twitching.

The green haired man smirked.

The soldiers stepped back little by little to ready themselves for battle, as they observed XX18 rise slowly from the tainted floor, wiping his mouth by his sleeves. His hair was wet from the green liquid and blood, that was still flowing from his wounds and scratches. When he was already standing strait, he opened his eyes, glaring while observing his surroundings. He looked at his body with confusion, before pulling the daggers out from where they were buried; eyes never flinching like he didn't feel any pain.

The first ten soldiers who were ready to attack him suddenly fell down with a silent growl, surprising the other soldiers. The soldiers who fell had their necks stabbed with daggers, and the remaining soldiers readied themselves with caution.

"Turn the lights off and switch it to Night Vision." Verde said, adjusting his glasses.

"Instruction received." A woman said before typing, switching the turning off the lights of the white room.

Screams of pain and agony were heard as soon as the lights disappeared. And after waiting for minute, the lights were on again.

The white room that was once white was turned into a crimson red room, with the bodies of the soldiers lying everywhere, bathing in their own blood.

"Perfect." Verde said as he watched subject XX18 standing in the middle of the bodies, with his clothes soaked in red liquid.

The scientist was about to announce that the operation was successful, when red lights started blinking and alerting sounds startled the people in the whole place.

"Doctor Verde, XX69 has escaped from Cell 87!" A man shouted, typing before his monitor showed that an indigo haired man in white clothing was running in a corridor while destroying all surveillance cameras.

"Tch. Close all the gates and release all kind of soldiers, take back all experiments, dead or alive, now!" Verde commanded. He went to the main screen and started typing.

"Doctor, all of the gates have opened and cannot be closed, other experiments destroyed the command room in Cell One. XX69 acted as a decoy. Five other experiments have escaped." A woman said, her voice was calm but sounded panicked. Verde glared, frustrated.

On the main screen, XX18 smirked and escaped the room before the gates of the room closed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Are you sure you're okay on your own, Tsuna?" The baseball player asked, standing by the door frame, the loud music bursting through the corridor behind him.

"Yeah..." The brunet nodded and looked down to check whether his shoe laces were tied neatly, before looking up again at his friend. "Um, I'm really sorry Yamamoto, I can't stay until midnight. I really want to, but I have work tomorrow." Tsuna said, giving him an apologetic smile.

"Nah, it's okay...but you know, I don't understand, it's supposed to be the winter holidays...hmmm, I guess your boss is really strict." The taller man cocked his head on the other side_. _

_He's more than strict! He's an evil incarnation!_ The brunet thought.

"Well, it's not the job's fault." Tsuna answered quickly. It's his insane boss' fault. If it wasn't for his boss, Reborn, saying that he should-must-work harder than everyone, then Tsuna would have got to spend the Christmas vacation with his dog, Natsu, and have celebrated this Christmas eve with his best friend, and his best friend's colleagues. Why he should work harder than anyone and everyone in work, he didn't know. What he only knew was that his Boss was an insane, inhuman, sadistic creature who was born to live to torture people. Tsuna let out a heavy sigh.

"Oh, and sorry if my teammates suddenly barged in and threw a ...loud party." Yamamoto looked back, chuckling as he heard one of his teammates singing with the deafening music.

"It's fine, really. Well, I have to go now..." The smaller male smiled at Yamamoto. "Thank you for the movies by the way." Tsuna said before walking ahead on the snow path, waving back at Yamamoto.

"Call me if you need something!" Yamamoto shouted, smiling; before closing the door of his house.

Tsuna gave the house one last look and a smile before looking back on his path, wrapping his orange scarf tighter on his neck and rubbing his hands together. He was wearing a short sleeve white shirt and beige cargo pants. He knew it was snowing, yet he forgot to wear his thick sweater and white mittens because he was late for work that morning.

Work.

He sighed for the umpteenth time that day, remembering his job.

The brunet was working in a weird secret agency where his father recommended him to apply. It was a Do-It-All agency; where the top ranked workers do the dangerous jobs: they would either catch a criminal, protect the President of some country, or assassinate someone dangerous to the society. It may be a dangerous job for them, but the amount of money given to them were more than enough to buy an island.

The middle rank workers do the average-but-not-easy jobs; like pretending to be a third wheel in a relationship to separate a couple, or to dig a grave to bring back a jewelry with the corpse.

All the jobs mentioned were the jobs Tsuna knew he would never try to do nor think of doing. That's why he was placed in the lowest rank; where the workers would do house chores, be a janitor at some company, babysit, and be a waiter at some restaurant. Well, for Tsuna, house working is the best thing he could do; that's why he was satisfied with his job and with his salary. What he wasn't satisfied with was having a boss like Reborn; who would make him work out of his schedule without any additional amount in his salary, and let him clean the whole building of the Vongola Agency, which was seventy-nine floors. And like it wasn't enough, the top ranked workers would always bully him by giving him an errand to run, like instructing him to buy bottles of orange juice from another country via telephone.

Though his life at work was not what he imagined it would be, at least he was still thankful that he had a job for him to survive without his parent's help (Well, except for his father's job recommendation).

Tsuna snapped from his thoughts, remembering that he needed to buy dog food for Natsu and some grocery supplies. Rubbing his hands the second time, he opened his messenger bag to grab for his wallet. He noticed the CD's he borrowed from Yamamoto earlier.

Tsuna took out his wallet and one of the CD's before changing his route to the direction of the grocery store.

The brown haired male was staring at the silver disk while walking, reminiscing his past memories when he was in High School, the time when he met Yamamoto, his first friend ever.

And his first love.

Well, it was a cliché encounter for someone who was always bullied during their High School life.

It was a time when Tsuna found himself stuck in the same predicament he never got used to, being attacked by street gangsters in the middle of the day. He just accidentally trespassed inside the gang's turf, for he thought it was the best shortcut he could take going to school, and apparently, he assumed wrong. Fortunately, by the time he was being strangled on the wall, by a tattooed-faced man, with another gangster pulling his khakis down, the baseball star of his school, who was Yamamoto Takeshi showed up and delivered subsequent punches to each and every gangster present, while giving them a lecture of something about righteousness and equality. And after that day, Tsuna and Yamamoto became friends and the latter would always make sure Tsuna goes home and comes to school safely by escorting him back and fort.

And yes, Tsuna thought that that part of Yamamoto was very sweet.

The brunet snapped out from his thoughts and glared at particularly nothing, feeling his cheeks heat up as he remembered those days of his sweet High School life. It was actually a surprise when Yamamoto asked Tsuna for his number so that he could keep in touch even after graduation. And today, Tsuna and Yamamoto were both already twenty four in age , the only difference is that Yamamoto became a ridiculously handsome, popular, star- baseball player. Not that Tsuna thought Yamamoto was not handsome when they were in High School.

The brunet shivered, the cool air gently touching his warm cheeks. He decided to take the long way to the grocery rather than the short cut, wanting to feel and smell more of the fresh wind of Christmas. He smiled.

The petite man turned into a corner and came into a silent street where shops where starting to close down, but still had the gorgeous Christmas lights turned on. It was a peaceful sight. Especially the big Christmas tree located at the center of the road that was filled with Christmas balls, angels, and other sparkly decorations. Tsuna felt warm and fuzzy just by looking at the tree.

Until all those feelings disappeared when he saw a man taller than him in a white clothing, covered in cuts and bruises while his hospital pajamas drenched with red stains. The man was staring at the Christmas Tree with a look, Tsuna guessed, was fascination.

With no other person in the street but the two of them, Tsuna forgot about the grocery store that was twenty meters away and immediately went to consult the stranger whether he was okay or not. Yes, Tsuna was nervous, terrified even; his soul screaming to run away, but it was his nature to always prioritize those who were injured, for he himself experienced the pain of being abandoned after a good beating.

By impulse and instinct, the brunet jogged to the direction of the man, and when he was about five feet away, the tall man snapped his head at his direction and glared. Tsuna immediately halted. While the man was glaring at him, the brunet took the opportunity to inspect the man's appearance. It actually surprised him, that on a closer look, the man was alarmingly attractive, despite the minor cuts on his face. He had a long indigo hair, pale skin, perfect pointed nose, high cheekbones, long eyelashes and fine looking lips. He was like a person who came out of a model magazine that featured Halloween. But what attracted and intrigued Tsuna the most was those heterochromatic eyes. He felt like was being skinned alive by those eyes, yet in a way, it was pleasant. Shivers ran like wildfire in his body, and an unknown feeling of excitement was building up in the pit of his stomach.

They were just staring at each other until Tsuna noticed that blood suddenly trickled from the man's forehead.

"Hii! You're bleeding!" the brunet practically ran to the man's side and pressed his handkerchief on the man's forehead. The man's eyes widened and his whole body stiffened when felt the physical contact. Tsuna immediately regretted what he'd done, but held the hanky still with trembling hands.

"I-I-um, I'm sorry, uh- I know this is really freaking you out but, um, please relax and let me treat your wounds. I know that you d-don't know me but I-I won't harm you, and I can't leave you out here bleeding,s- so..." Tsuna didn't really know what to say, so he just bit his lower lip and concentrated on the man's wound.

The man looked at Tsuna quizzically, an elegant brow raised . The man studied the brunet before the feeling of relief washed through his body. Before Tsuna could think, the man suddenly closed his eyes and fell, and on Tsuna's reflex, he caught the man, with the stranger's head on his shoulder.

Tsuna panicked, not knowing if the man was dead or not. But when the petite man felt a heartbeat against his chest, he gave a relieved sigh. _So this means I'm going to take care of you, huh. _Tsuna shrugged gently before repositioning the man, placing the man on his back, hands around Tsuna's neck, his head on resting on the brunet's shoulder.

And as soon as Tsuna took his first step, white particles gently caressed the ground. Tsuna's eyes widened in excitement.

"The first snow." _It_ _means it's already midnight, based on the news_. Tsuna smiled, looking at the injured man while walking.

"Merry Christmas, Mister."

* * *

**Author's Rant:**

My first KHR fic. Hope you did enjoy reading it. But I'm warning you guys, that I'm not a fast updater, unless a miracle happens and a huge number of reviews would make me want to write.

The rating might go up to M, and it's not because of the violence, if you know what I mean .*LoLz*

Oh, and this is gonna be All27...but I think it's going to be mainly 692718...it depends on you guys...and a little Yama x Tsuna fluff.

Anyways, hope you did enjoy reading it.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm sorry, but it's not beta'ed for now. Please excuse or ignore any mistakes.

Disclaimer: That's why it's called _fanfiction_, right? I don't know why we need to put disclaimers when it's obvious that it's not ours...Anyway, the anime is not mine, 'cause if it is, I'll make Squalo an endorser of L'oreal, which is also not mine.

* * *

**Chapter Two:** Expectations

* * *

Darkness.

_The only place where he could find peace. The place where he could find solitude._

_Silence._

_No blood. No experiments. No pain._

_No sacrifices._

_The place where he could escape the feeling of being restricted. A place where he could be free, without any consequences._

_It was the only thing that kept him sane._

_Even when the darkness was always accompanied by the unwelcomed cold._

But this time, something was different.

Very different.

Darkness was still present, but it wasn't cold. It was warm. And strange enough, he could smell something...something like citrus and fresh bread. And something he still could not indentify.

It was comfortable, but he reluctantly let himself be engulfed with the strange feeling of being welcomed. A strange feeling of being accepted. Of being protected.

A feeling of being safe.

Then he felt a strange sensation of something warm and wet against the side of his face, followed by a strange sound.

A sound of _something_ barking.

Heterochromatic eyes snapped open.

* * *

Tsunayoshi Sawada was irritated.

Scratch that, he was beyond pissed.

The first reason why he was fuming was because Christmas day was supposed to be a holiday right? And holidays are non-working days, right? He was an employee of an agency, so that means he is not exempted from the right to have a rest day, right?

But no, his sadistic boss had other plans for him, which is why he was currently mopping the kitchen floor of the agency's five star restaurant, which was located at the twentieth floor of the agency's fifty story building. And Tsuna being a low ranked worker, was not allowed to use the elevator because, as his boss said, 'low ranked people must know how to reach the top by their own feet'. What Tsuna didn't expect was that Reborn had meant it literally.

And that was the second reason why he was pissed. The third reason, however, was the most infuriating of all, because his boss had to slap it on Tsuna's face that he won't be celebrating Christmas with anyone but his dog. (His parents were having a vacation in Italy, wherein Tsuna refused the offer when his mother invited him. Tsuna didn't want to hear his parents being lovey-dovey to each other. It was just..._bleh_...)

He slapped it how? Well, he just asked -_more like demanded and blackmailed_- Tsuna yesterday to do the following for today; to clean the _entire_ massive restaurant, cook nineteen recipes, each for the quantity of fifty people (which was all gourmet and Christmas related, and coincidentally, it was all his favorites), bake two humungous chocolate cake shaped like a Christmas tree, assist the assigned helpers to decorate the restaurant, and weirdly, wrap six huge boxes, which was probably gifts that Reborn had planned to give to his co-workers, or the other bosses that run the Do-it-All agency, the _Arcobaleno_. All this because Reborn had conducted a party with his peers, and he had just picked Tsuna to do it all, while all of the employees was given a week's rest.

The brunet started out this morning, and everything was finished and ready by five o'clock in the afternoon. It was currently ten passed nine o'clock, and the party started at six. Tsuna was re-cleaning the kitchen, because he didn't want to go out and see his work being used and eaten by elegantly dressed-people who was associated with his boss. It just made him mad, sad, and envious because they get to enjoy Christmas by using and eating _his _hard work; his hard work that could have been enjoyed by his dog and him (_and maybe, also Yamamoto_)while celebrating this day.

And what made everything worse was that he had to stay until the party was finished, because he had to clean the everything again.

Good thing he was spared from being one of the hired waiters; the brunet had been working from four in the morning until now, and he didn't get much sleep because he had to treat the injuries of a...well, run-away man? A lost man? A hobo?

Tsuna was still worried for the man that he brought home, and he would like to stay by the man's side until he wakes up, but his boss from hell had threatened to make Natsu a very delectable _hot-dog_ if he didn't show up to do his job. Other than that, if Reborn fired him because of one absence, he would not have the money to take care of the man...and himself...

Tsuna didn't know what or who the man was, but he was dressed in a torn up hospital gown, and the brunet thought he could be a hospital patient, but he was too pale like he wasn't being taken care of. And while cleaning his wounds last night, he noticed that there was nohole that could have been punctured by a needle of an IV drip on the back of his palm. All there was, were bruises and long, deep cuts that was far done by a knife.

But what bothered Tsuna the most were the long lined burn marks on his arms, legs and back, as if he was attacked by lasers, or something, and the black, circle mark under his left palm, which was probably a very lame tattoo.

The brown eyed man also remembered that the man's features were far from being Japanese, because he was foreign looking, but nonetheless, he was very, _very_ attractive, even when he was covered in cuts. Not only was the man attractive, he also had a nice body. While the brunet cleaned the man, he realized that he was too skinny and girly looking compared to the man's body that was pale, lean, and with just the right amount of muscles (not the bulky ones because of steroids or something). The man even had abdominal muscles!

Tsuna blushed horribly at the thought.

_Well, even Yamamoto has abs, and they were also sexy looking but- gah! Wait, what the hell am I thinking?!_

The brunet was saved from having an impending brain overload and severe nose-bleeding when the evil man who caused all of his exhaustion suddenly appeared from the silver doors of the white kitchen. The arrival was so unexpected that Tsuna had let out a squeak and nearly lost his hold on the mop when his eyes met a pair dark, obsidian ones. The brunet had not seen his boss all day since yesterday, and he was surprised to see his boss in a red dress shirt instead of his usual orange ones, but he was still wearing a suit, that was worn impeccably perfect.

Reborn was a man of peculiar perfection, Tsuna concluded. He had yet to see his boss without his fedora, but he knows that Reborn was a handsome Italian, if the squeals of the women _and _men population, and the fan calls of the girls who were brave enough to stalk Reborn weren't enough indication. But there are these weird sideburns that would bounce every now and then when reborn walks, it may be attractive or adorable to other people, but to him, it was just plain weird.

He had the perfect face, but had the weird sideburns. He had the most intelligent brain, but had a twisted way of thinking. He had a strong body, but uses it to other people's inconvenience. He had power and authority, and abuses it for the agency's convenience( but most of the time, for his convenience). Yup, not peculiar perfection; twisted imperfection was more appropriate to describe his boss.

Reborn reached the closest counter and decided to lean on it, while loosening his tie. He continued to observe the appearance of the low-ranked worker, before looking away and gave away a heavy sigh. Tsuna on the other hand, was waiting for his boss to say something, while keeping a death grip on the mop. Tsuna was not scared, he was far from it. He was keeping his hands on check or else he would have already bashed Reborn's face with the mop. He was that pissed. If he made Tsuna clean the restaurant while the guests were still mingling with each other, he didn't know if he could hold himself back from strangling the taller man.

Reborn gave him an expressionless glance before talking, "Make me a cup of espresso."

Tsuna was about to attack Reborn when the older man opened his mouth, but was surprised when his boss suddenly asked for a very simple favour.

Tsuna blinked, "Huh?"

"Are you deaf, or should I let you know what it feels to have a boiling coffee splashed on your face? " Reborn smirked.

A smirking Reborn is never good.

Tsuna snapped out from his thoughts and immediately went to prepare the said cup of coffee. Reborn was still watching his every movement.

"S-so, how was the party? And why are you here? You're the host of the party, right?" Tsuna asked while filling the filter of the moka pot with ground espresso.

There was a very pregnant pause.

"You're not using the machine."Reborn stated.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm making a homemade espresso. I don't know how to use the machine." _And I don't want to destroy it either. _Tsuna thought.

Reborn snorted. Everything was silent from there on until Tsuna had finished preparing the espresso. Pouring the dark liquid on a cup, he went to give it to his boss.

"Are you sure this would pass for my preferences?" Reborn asked cockily.

_Oh, the nerve. _Tsuna mused, a vein popping on his forehead. He went to retrieve the forgotten mop to continue cleaning the floor.

"I suppose it would." Tsuna answered, glaring at the floor.

"Hn." Reborn took a gulp of the dark liquid that Tsuna wish would scald his boss' tongue.

There was a moment of silence.

_Ha! Cat got your tongue? Delicious, isn't it?_ The brunet smugly thought. Though, he did not expect to hear the next words of his boss.

"From now on, you make my Espresso. Take it to my office every morning." Reborn stated, taking another sip from his cup. Tsuna's eyes widened.

"What?!" The brunet asked, surprised, before glaring at Reborn. The taller man just raised an elegant brow.

Tsuna _finally _snapped. He stopped his movements and looked at Reborn straight in the eyes.

"Okay, that's it. I have been working here for a year, and all you do is to always pick on me! There are many workers who could have done the things that you've ordered me to do other than the outside requests! They could clean the floors of the never ending hallways of each floor, they could feed the bloodhounds and the K9's that would always chase me when I try to feed them, they could repaint the walls vandalized by the bullies of the high ranked workers, they could do a lot! Heck, they could have done the preparation for your party tonight! And now you're telling me to me to make you a cup of espresso everyday when your office is at the fiftieth floor and I work at the third floor? Did I do something wrong to you, _Boss_? 'Cause I believe I've done everything right and you're only doing these things for your entertainment! And the worst part of it all, not even a single _thank you_ can be given to me! "

Tsuna was panting heavily with his face flushed. Silence once again settled between the two. Reborn finished his espresso before putting the cup on the counter, turning his head at Tsuna's direction.

"Several guests were impressed with the party. And I am here to be away from the annoying guests who were trying to talk me into bedding them, and it would be a big lost to our agency if I decided to kill them, since they are affiliated with us. Just because I am the host of the party does not mean I have to entertain them the whole night. " Reborn said, and it was to answer Tsuna's earlier question.

Before Tsuna could speak, Reborn suddenly straightened up and walked towards the brunet's direction, and the look Reborn was giving him made Tsuna step back every time the taller man took a step forward.

"I was beginning to believe that you are not capable of the emotion to get angry. Though, your outburst seemed to prove my assumptions wrong." By now, Tsuna's back was pressed on the wall with Reborn hands on each side of his face. The mop was still in Tsuna's grip, though, Reborn slowly took the mop away to set it on the wall beside them. Tsuna's heart was beating fast, not expecting his boss to have this reaction. He was expect the taller man to fire him, not _this_.

"You think I do not know these thoughts of yours? You think that I could not read your mind when you have a very expressive face?...You think I do this for my own entertainment?" Tsuna looked down and blushed like never before, avoiding Reborn's gaze.

"Perhaps you are right. I do this for my entertainment." The brunet then snapped his head up to glare at Reborn, not expecting that the man's face was closer than he thought. Reborn was smirking. The taller man set his face beside Tsuna's head, his lips grazing the brunet's ear every time he moved those thin, sexy lips. Tsuna could not suppress a shiver even if he wanted to.

"I always order you to do the things that you mentioned a while ago...because even when others can do it, you do your job exceptionally perfect. You do it better than them. I could have promoted you to become one of the middle ranks, but you're too scared to accept a mission. You have the talent, you just don't have the will." Tsuna closed his eyes, his heart rate increasing. The baritone voice of the taller man was very smooth that it should be a crime to have that kind of voice, even if it had a warning edge on it.

"Have you not noticed that every month, your income increases by twenty percent? Have you not noticed that the dogs never bit you when they have bitten others? Have you not noticed that the bullies you were talking about are no longer working here?" The brunet knew that his face was red by now. Tsuna was expecting his boss to do something more, like punch him suddenly or kick him, but then Reborn had done something very unforeseen by the brunet.

He gently nibbled Tsuna's ear.

"Nnn-?"

Reborn chose to ignore the surprised moan.

"I chose you to prepare the party because I discovered that you enjoy cooking and decorating. And since your father told me that I should celebrate this day with you, I expected you to enjoy your party, which you prepared yourself." Reborn withdrew his head and looked at Tsuna. "I didn't expect though that you would sulk because you thought this party was for me, even if I am the host. I thought that you would enjoy the party more if you prepared it yourself, but I guess I was wrong."

Tsuna stared at Reborn in astonishment. _It was all for me? _The brunet thought, forgetting the taller man's action of nibbling his ear.

"Whu-what?" Tsuna asked dumbfounded, his face was still flushed.

Reborn withdrew himself completely from Tsuna's personal bubble, going back to the counter as if nothing happened and placed a small box beside the empty cup.

"You are the only person who would always prove me incorrect about things I've decided to take interest in. It exasperates me to no end...But instead of making you disappear, I've decided to favour you, that is why I would always pick on you. _Just for my entertainment_." Reborn said smirking, one hand inside the pocket of his slacks, then he was walking towards the doors of the kitchen.

"You do not have to clean anymore after the party. In fact, you may go home now. As a gift from the Arcobaleno, you are given a three-week vacation. The box there is just a personal gift in exchange for the things that you have done for the agency this year." Reborn gave Tsuna a one last look. Then he snorted.

"_Buon Natale_, Dame-Tsuna. " And with that, his boss exited the kitchen.

The brunet stared at the kitchen doors for a good fifteen minutes, not knowing how to react.

Tsunayoshi Sawada, in his whole twenty four years of living, was stumped.

* * *

The brunet's ride home was all about contemplating the realizations that he made from Reborn's confession. He still couldn't believe that he had an outburst like that, in front of his boss nonetheless! Though he never expected Reborn to be explaining things for him, and his boss' sounded like Tsuna was being ungrateful to him; like he never even thought that Reborn was being lenient with him (which he never was). He was so confused by the man's words that he stopped thinking about it. But what wouldn't leave his mind were the man's actions.

_He freakin' nibbled my earlobe! What's worse, I reacted..._

_'Just for _his_ entertainment'...huh..._

Tsuna's heart was still beating erratically just from remembering the sensation of those sinful lips that descended on his ear. Other than that, he was still nervous about the small box Reborn had given him. He never expected Reborn to give him a gift. He decided that he would open the box when he will be home with Natsu, so that there would be someone there who would comfort him, or save him if the small box contained something that would be hazardous to the brunet's health.

_Personal gift? Was it his way of saying thank you or maybe sorry? Well, try again next time Reborn. I'm not asking for the gift, I'm asking for the words. _Tsuna thought.

Even though he was still a bit stumped from his earlier encounter with his boss, he kind of understood his boss a little more. He was also thankful that he was given a three-week vacation. It was more that he could ask for from the agency, or from the Arcobaleno themselves. He needed the time to rest and enjoy his life a bit more. He also needed the time to assist a mysterious yet attractive man to recover, who was currently resting in his apartment.

Paying the taxi driver with the right amount of money, Tsuna exited the car and entered the glass doors of the four storey apartment. It was a very simple apartment but it had its elegant taste. And even with the comfortable and homey atmosphere, the rent was low and Tsuna considered that he was one of the lucky people who have found a good place to live. Using the stairs, the brunet proceeded to the second floor where his room was located at the end of the corridor.

When he opened the door to his apartment, he was expecting Natsu to come barking at his feet, especially when he had some take home food from _his_ supposed to be party. However, no Natsu was present in sight.

"Natsu?" Tsuna called. When no dog called back, he assumed that Natsu was asleep, thought that would be a very rare occasion.

The brunet left his shoes on the foyer and putting his coat on the rack and proceeded to the table in his living room where the telephone was placed, putting down the gift box his boss gave to him before pushing a button on the telephone to hear some messages left for him when he was outside. Most of the messages were telemarketers trying to advertise their products. He also received a message from his parents greeting him happy holidays. But what surprised him was a message from someone he expected to celebrate his Christmas with.

_Beep._ "Hey Tsuna! Takeshi here. Merry Christmas! I was supposed to invite you to my father's sushi restaurant, but I remember you saying that you have work today. Anyway, I hope we could meet up sometime, I have something for you... So, happy holidays!" _Beep._

Tsuna unconsciously smiled. He wasn't able to call Yamamoto, but he also have something for his cru-friend. Reminding himself to look at his schedule later, he went to the kitchen to unpack the foods and he decided to boil some hot water for the indigo-haired man. Finishing the chores, he went to look for his dog in his room.

The petite man went to the hallway of the apartment, and when he finally reached the door of his room, as silent as he could, he entered the room. Just when he was done closing the door, his back facing his bed, a dagger was suddenly thrown on the door, just above his shoulder, beside his right ear.

"Holy!... M-m-mother...of...N-knives..." Tsuna mumbled, frightened. _Where did that come from? _

Tsuna was unmoving for a bit, scared to death that someone was there to assassinate him or _something_. He stayed like a statue for a minute or two, before hearing a barking sound behind him. He then slowly turned around, and was bewildered at the sight. Natsu was a very sensitive dog; he was both shy and aggressive when it comes to strangers, but the sight of his dog on the man's lap was...well, very surprising and unexpected.

Currently, the dog was barking at the stranger, like it was reprimanding him for trying to hurt his master. The pale man was resting his back on the headboard of his bed, wearing nothing but bandages on his chest and arms, looking at the dog and nodding slightly like he actually understands the golden retriever.

When Natsu had finally calmed down, the pale turned his head at Tsuna's direction. The brunet had a sharp intake of breath when those hypnotizing eyes clashed with his caramel brown ones. They were staring with each other for who knows how long, but Tsuna realized that the man's cuts and bruises on his face were already healed, and the petite man could clearly see that the man was truly beautiful.

The brown haired man broke his gaze with the man when he felt a soft tugging on his jeans. Tsuna looked down and he could see Natsu pulling his pants.

"I thought you were sleeping. Y-you hungry, Natsu?" Tsuna asked, feeling the man's piercing eyes on his skin. When Natsu continued to pull his pants, he figured that the dog was telling him to check the man if he was alright.

"You want me to check on him?" Tsuna asked and the dog barked, happily wagging his tail.

Tsuna looked at the man briefly before flashing him a soft smile. He had a feeling that he was safe, based from what Natsu was letting him feel. That the man only acted that way a while ago for self-defence. The brunet hoped that his intuition was right, nonetheless, he put his guard down.

"Do you understand Japanese?" The petite man asked, going over to a drawer beside the door, taking out a digital thermometer. When Tsuna looked back at the man, the stranger was still looking at him, not answering, like he didn't hear anything at all. All there was, was an indifferent expression on his face. Tsuna sighed.

"I don't know if you can understand me or not, and I'm not good in speaking the English language either, but I will still talk." Tsuna said, going near the man. "I'm going to touch you, okay? So please...please don't freak out..." The brunet said while standing, before slowly touching the man's tense left arm, lifting it, and placing the thermometer under his armpits. He did it with gentle care, like he was afraid of breaking the man. Then Tsuna let out a sigh of relief.

Waiting for the thermometer to sound off, Tsuna decided to talk, while unwrapping the bandages. "You heal very quickly. You know, it's very unusual. But still it's a good thing. I hope you could stay until you feel alright, unless you have nowhere to go...but then I need to know something about you, so that I know what to say to my parents and friends when they see you..." Tsuna finished unwrapping the bandages on both arms of the man, and at the same time, the thermometer's sound filled the room. Deeming that the temperature of the man was far from being high, the petite man thought that he should let the man eat.

"Oh, by the way... my name is Tsuna. Me. Tsuna. What's yours?...Um...Name. You." The brunet said, pointing at himself twice, before pointing at the man. The stranger just gave him the apathetic look. Tsuna sighed again. He looked at Natsu who was on the floor, wagging his tail while observing the man and his master.

"Uh, forget it...Just...I'll just get something for us to eat, okay?" Tsuna said, looking at his dog before giving the stranger a tired smile. Then the brunet threw the used bloody bandages inside the trash bin, and placed the thermometer on the table beside the bed. Standing up he proceeded to walk to the door and took the dagger off before placing it on the nearby drawer. When Tsuna opened the door halfway, a pale hand shot out from his back and banged the door closed, in which Tsuna gave an astonished yelp. Before he could react and say something, another hand snaked its way on Tsuna's slender waist, and felt a firm and broad chest on his back. Tsuna was too startled to say something, and he was surprised more than enough for this day.

A head was slowly pressed against the back of his jaw, just below his right ear. Thin, soft lips were firmly pressed on his neck and the stranger was taking the brunet's scent, sniffing him while the lips travelled from behind his ear to his jaw. The hand on his waist tightened its grip and suddenly, a mouth sucked the skin of his neck. Tsuna involuntarily gave a startled moan and shivered.

"Ah!"

The man who was holding him gave a pleased hum before detaching his mouth from the slender neck. Tsuna was blushing madly and he was also nervous as hell, but strange enough, he wasn't frightened. What happened next though, was another surprise that had him hearing the most seductive voice he had ever heard.

"My name...is Mukuro."

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To be continued.

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**Author's Rant:**

I don't know if anybody would read this, but I'll still be posting it. :P

I wrote the chapter one of this story a year ago, and I've only decided to post it this year because...well...it would be a great loss if I just deleted it. And if the readers would like it, then there's a point in continuing it, right?

So, I will be changing the rating to M when the time comes, and by that time, I will be having an AFF account or maybe an AO3 account to post the unedited chaps. But since it's just the start, were far from those scenes. But there will be hot scenes like the ones in this chap...or maybe more than just teasing...

I have a lot of personal problems and school problems right now, because I have to catch up (I've been absent for three weeks) and High School graduation is close, so I'll be a bit busy. But I'll be updating after graduating this March (if I do graduate)...

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**Dear Readers,**

_Thank you all for the reviews/favourites/alerts**.**_ I was like, 'whoa' when I saw them. I'd like to respond to them, but where's the fun if I told you the answers right? I'll just surprise you with a chapter...(*grins*) Or maybe, I'll just respond to you by PMs.

**But hey, I can see you guys alerting and faving without leaving any of your thoughts... review guys :)**

I didn't expect this chap to turn out like this, but I'm still satisfied by it. Reborn is a very evil, he teases Tsuna just for his entertainment...While Mukuro made Tsuna look dumb by pretending not to know Japanese...Oh and Mukuro didn't do that because he's perverted, you'll know the reason later why he did that ;)

I'll be giving vague hints about the next chaps, and I'll be giving these hints from now on. And please know that everything here happens for a reason, which will be explained in the future chaps. (*grins again*)

Anyway, if you have something to say, **reactions/suggestions**, please let me know it by reviewing. So that I know what to write for you readers. I'll still stick with my plans but I will happily give you some moments of the pairings you suggest :)

Thank you for reading, and God bless!

**" A review is the only gratification an author can get here in FFnet. "**

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**Hints for the Next chap: **It'll be something about Yamamoto's point of view. And what happened to the three of the five other Fallens who escaped? Why did Mukuro act that way?


	3. Preview of Chapter Three

This is just a preview guys. I know you all have been waiting, so I posted this preview and I would post the whole chapter on** Monday OR Tuesday.  
**

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**Preview  
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**Chapter Three: **Steps

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Mukuro Estraneo Rokudo was what you call a failure.

An outcast of the outcasts.

A failed Fallen experiment, thus making him more dangerous to the society.

Fallens may have inhuman and extraordinary abilities, but they were controlled and made to follow orders; they should obey without a second thought. They know nothing, do nothing, learn nothing, but to destroy, to fight, to kill, and to survive. They know nothing about their pasts, and they don't consider themselves as human, but a tool. Some Fallens may still have the knowledge of what is right and wrong, and some may still have the instinct to fight for their freedom, but it ends there. They still know that their purpose is to kill, but they still don't know their own identities , and they should find a suitable master for them to serve.

But Mukuro was a very, _very _different case.

At the age of six, his own parents, who were cold scientists, made him into a guinea pig just for them to test a product that could give hypnotic and telepathic powers to a human. After week of observing the boy with tubes and wires connected to his small, frail body, they deemed the experiment a both a success and a failure, based from the newest technologies, and some hands-on experiment where there were humans who stood face to face with the boy and talked to him on the other side of the glass window by using only their minds. Success, for the boy displayed telepathic abilities. Failure, for he didn't hypnotize anyone to fall asleep or _do something_ out of the ordinary.

There were also side effects that happened to the young Mukuro. His normally black hair turned white, before turning into a dark shade of indigo. From normal blue eyes, his left eye became a lighter shade indigo and his right eye became bloody, scarlet red, with unknown characters that was embedded in it.

And upon hearing the word failure, the boy was disappointed that he let his parents down. So he tried to do _something out of the ordinary_.

Three days later, all of the six humans who talked to the boy died because of their brains suddenly blowing off, like a bomb was implanted inside their heads that blew everything from inside out. And the young boy intentionally did that in order to appease his parents.

Young Mukuro saw his own abilities and the change in his appearance, but it did not bother him at all. He was willing to do anything for his parents, and now that they were paying attention to him, he was not willing to risk their attention by whining and complaining about the things that they have done, and things that they plan to do to him. He wanted their attention, and he got it. No matter how cruel they were being to him. He smiled.

When the scientists asked the boy if he was the cause of the deaths, he only nodded.

The father was pleased. The mother was not. The other scientists just listed this as a progress.

The father wanted to see if these powers can control people, and at the same time control the user of these powers. He wanted to make an extraordinary human. A monster. Not a Fallen. A creature higher than a Fallen. So he kept the boy in his own lab ran his own experiments to Mukuro, achieving his goal little by little. Mukuro just considered this a bonding time with father.

The mother on the other hand wanted to see if these powers can be upgraded and if she can add more powers other than telepathy. She wanted to see the extent of how many abilities a human can acquire without being a Fallen, without killing anybody. So the mother went to his husband's laboratory and told him her plans.

The man was not pleased anymore.

They fought and shouted at each other, while young Mukuro was in a big cylindrical glass watching his family break apart. The boy was shouting for them to stop, but he was unheard. Suddenly, the mother accidentally pressed a button when the father punched her on the shoulder.

The young boy in the class suddenly coughed blood, and started screaming.

Amidst his screaming and his agony and the blinking red lights with alarming sounds, he heard his mother and father.

"_Look at what you've done! It was already failing from my experiments! And now you made it more useless! _"

" _What? You selfishly stole it when it was usable! You destroyed a good product!_ "

The young boy continued screaming, not only from the pain that wrecked his entire body, but also from the pain of his realization that he was never considered as a son. He was considered an _it_.

A thing. A product. An experiment.

And he _finally_ realized.

He will never be loved. By his Estraneo and Rokudo relatives. By his father. By his mother.

By himself.

He hated himself for being such a fool.

With a final scream, and a final tear, he broke the glass.

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**End of Preview**

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Mukuro's past doesn't end there guys. See you on Monday OR Tuesday :)


	4. PLEASE DON'T KILL ME D:

**I know you guys are going to hate this, cause it's an author's note. . . *hides away***

For the "Chains" readers, I know, I know it's long overdue. . . and I'm really sorry that I haven't updated yet, 'cause I've been really busy and my laptop just got fixed last week. Also, college life is taking up my free time; having hundreds of those sleepless nights just to finish our "plates" (Plates-what we call our artworks).

Being a college student is not easy; being a fine arts' student doesn't make it any better (but I still enjoy it very much).

I will be uploading chapter 3 AND 4 after the second week of August ('cause that's going to be our prelims).

I hope you guys understand.

God Bless and Good Luck guys :D

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By the way, I finally have a tumblr account, hihihihi :D . . . You guys can check it out (It's about random art, and anime stuff, and Naruto XD).

It's julyturnsblack dottumblrdotcom :D

I only have 5 followers (I know, lame), so I hope you guys could follow me :D

Thank you :D


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